Art

Pavilion for Japanese Art: Paintings in Celebration of Twenty-Five Years

Pavilion for Japanese Art

April 26, 2014–June 22, 2014

This exhibition of paintings from the museum's collection of Japanese art, including personal favorites chosen by LACMA curator and department head Robert T. Singer, celebrates the 25th anniversary of architect Bruce Goff's Pavilion for Japanese Art. Goff initially conceived of a space designed to meet the unique viewing requirements of traditional Japanese hanging scrolls and folding screens, with natural daylight and each work displayed in its own tokonoma, or alcove. The exterior walls of the Pavilion are made of Kalwall, a translucent material that permits light to enter a room in much the same way a shoji screen does. The gentle, spiraling ramp and petal-like viewing platforms give the viewer a sense of climbing through a garden. Since the building opened in 1988, nearly 20 folding screens and more than 150 hanging scrolls have been added to the museum's collection of Japanese paintings.